Have you thought of...

[gypsycomet]

While the rules are obviously aimed toward existing or likely 15mm lines, my long relationship with anime and other influences leads me to a few options that I don't see.

Mecha transforming to something other than a flier. 15mm examples can be found in Gear Krieg for wheels and tracks, while a grav or hover example is found in the series that forms the middle of Robotech (Southern Cross).

On the other hand, Cyclone armor (third part of Robotech, aka Genesis Climber Mospeada) is probably best abstracted to Jumpjets on a Specialist.

A number of anime mecha also do have access to their main weapons in transformed mode. Perhaps a weapon mount or Modz that allows one Main weapon to fire in what Spartan Games calls a "Fixed Channel Forward". Obviously best when using the vehicle turning template...

Two Transport points will carry Scout Mecha on page 22, but they aren't mentioned on page 42 or 44. Should Scout vehicles be included in that as well, and what can three transport points carry? Four? Is the idea of the (admittedly gigantic) Thunderhawk Transport with two land raiders slung underneath outside the scope of the game, or are "external" transport points a possibility?

Is there room for a coaxial or pintle mount on tanks, so an anti-infantry weapon can get 360 degree fire?

More as I think of them...

[inrepose]

Good points gypsycomet, I will add a small table on transport slots to cover the various options. With regard to morphing vehicles I also think it is a good idea but I am not sure of any figure lines that support it at the moment, unless we used 6mm battletech or went for some of those Gundam style 1/100th models. It would certainly be fun to consider Tank to walker mode vehicles, perhaps something to plan for when I next get some models commissioned for Gruntz.

[gypsycomet]

Transforming stuff might also need a fourth Critical System that would jam them in their current form and a second Critical Box for the other movement system. Gotta play to the tropes, after all.

I'm looking at possibly using my fairly large 15mm Gear Krieg collection, so walkers-to-wheels or walkers-to-tracks came to mind immediately. A couple of them have full turret use in either form, too, as their transport mode change is mostly just folding down the legs. Obviously complex transforms like the Gundam-Z or the Macross Valkyrie are a whole different story.

That suggests two ways to handle such things. Leave the Mecha alone, but provide a 2 point Modz for Tanks, Artillery, and GSVs that allows them to buy a second mobility mode (and perhaps gives them a fourth Critical System and a second box on Movement, as above) and another Modz ("Elevated Firing Platform") that allows them to clear LOS over some terrain they normally couldn't, including delivering carried Gruntz to the top of a small cliff or a balcony (why you would buy it for a GSV). The pair of Modz models the Gear Krieg stuff fairly well, since they keep their weapons in both movement modes, but use the slower legged mode for the omnidirectional movement and the higher LOS.

Some of the larger Gear Krieg models do actually have arms, but I'll burn that bridge when I acquire some. Most of my stuff is the smaller chassis types.

[comstar]

Hi Jim

All the current vehicles can be made as walkers and as the flight mode is not a mod but a system to buy @ 7 points for mechas a simple one is to buy that for transformation into something else. Use the base speed for that size vehicle for the different modes and then you have the correct function for each one! Because you are not using flight mode but all ground based I would say there would be no issues with any weapon system so all weapons would operate normally If flight is required use relevant mecha speeds and no main weapon can fire as normal!
With the conversion system I already use a house rule that if the mobility system is hit then the vehicle is stuck in that mode for the rest of the game unless it gets repaired later
Hope that helps some what as a mod for the game for you

Robin what do you think?

[Deleted]

For Heavy Gear models (pretty much all of them have a "secondary movement system" where they can skate quickly around on treads or wheels) I'm just paying the transformation cost and saying that they can use all weapons normally as a tradeoff for the fact that they still have to deal normally with terrain since they're still ground-based.

[gypsycomet]

The local 40k players brought up fighting transports, such as the Eldar Falcon, Marine Razorback, and the madness that is the Necron Monolith. With transport being a SV thing and 360 fields of fire with larger weapons being a Tank thing, the two functions don't seem to mesh. Is there a Mod I'm missing?

[inrepose]

I don't think I ever had the 40K style of play or the models like the Monolith in mind when creating the rules however I am sure something can ben done to reflect a mega vehicle. I don't have an instant answer because I don't play 40K and don't know how powerful a monolith would be. At a glance it looks like something that could spray a significant amount of damage around the battlefield. Is it a laser based system?

Just out of interest - Have you changed ranges for 28mm and setup the various weapon types like bolters etc?

[gypsycomet]

Oh, I play in 15mm, but I'm one of those toying with 40k in 15mm. It acts as a selling point to convert 40k players

The size of the Monolith isn't so much the problem as the combination of Transport capability with tank-killing weaponry in all-around arcs. The Falcon and Razorback do the same, though smaller, carrying a squad of 6 while equipped with something bigger than anti-personnel weaponry in a turret. Both would easily qualify as tanks except for the modest transport capability.

I note that the only reference to allowing turrets on GSVs is in the firing arc chart on page 22 (v1). Is this supposed to be model dependent? Is it what the Weapon Mounts are supposed to represent?

[gypsycomet]

Further ramble...

As I look at WWII Russians and CAV mechs (The Centurion, specifically, as it has enough cockpit for a 15mm mech) for a low-tech/poor bastards Neo-Soviet force, I'm wondering again if truly huge transport is worth pursuing. In this case, I'm thinking along the lines of tank and/or mech recovery vehicles, huge crawlers like NASA used to move Shuttles from the hangar to the pad, Halo's M312, and similar. More scenario gimmick than a combat ready type, but of course players will come up with ways to use what is given...

If a mechanism for Specialists "riding" something but dismountable is in the works, it could also solve this issue. A big vehicle or mech is "riding" its trailer or Recovery Vehicle. Points-wise a trailer would be cheap, but defining it's Soak and Hits allows it to join the fun.

[thorlongus]

In one of my armies, I use a mega transport, 4 slots, to carry 1 power armor squad, and 2 specialist dreadnought type mechas.....
I was a little put off by only being able to have 1,2,or 4 transport slots available ......what happen ended to having a transport with 3 slots?